MARSHALL, Texas - The Belhaven Softball team came up short in the 2024 Division III National Championship Series on Wednesday, falling 8-2 and 9-5 to East Texas Baptist to conclude a historic season. The Blazers finish the 2024 campaign with a record of 47-10.

GAME ONE

Pitching had the upper hand early in Game Two of the National Championship Series as Belhaven starter Kennedy Carruth needed just three pitches to retire the Tigers in the opening frame. Scoreless heading into the bottom of the third, ETBU opened the scoring with a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead. The Tigers pushed across another in the fourth to go up 3-0.

The Blazers answered with a run of their own in the fifth as Mary Moore Widemire singled in Jordan Kanipe to draw Belhaven within two. East Texas Baptist took control for good in the home half of the inning with a couple of two-run homers en route to a five-run frame.

Katie Jo Richardson drove in the Blazers' second run of the game with an RBI groundout in the sixth, but the Tigers finished off an 8-2 victory to force a decisive Game Three.

Top Performances

Allie Gordon: 1-3, 2B, R
Mary Moore Widemire: 1-2, RBI

GAME TWO

ETBU struck first in Game Three with a pair of home runs to take a 4-0 lead in the first. The Blazers battled back in the following frame with three of their own to get back into it. Madi Miller drove in two with a single to center to cut the Tiger lead in half. Miller came home to score a batter later on a throwing error to put the tally at 4-3.

The Tigers once again had an answer in the bottom of the inning as a two-out, two-run single put ETBU up 6-3 after two full. The Blazers answered right back with two in the top of the third with Natalie Parker delivering a two-run homer to straightaway center to bring Belhaven within a run at 6-5.

The Tigers picked up their seventh run of the contest with a leadoff homer in the third. After an explosive few innings early, both teams went quietly over the next couple of innings as ETBU took a 7-5 lead into the final two innings.

Back-to-back RBI hits for ETBU in the sixth gave the Tigers a 9-5 lead. A Kennedy Carruth single and a hit-by-pitch drawn by Katie Jo Richardson gave the Blazers a pair of baserunners in the seventh, but a groundout halted the Belhaven threat and ended the ballgame.

Kennedy Carruth, Allie Gordon, and Katie Jo Richardson were named to the World Series All-Tournament Team.

Top Performances

Kennedy Carruth (L, 31-7): 6.0 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 5 K
Madi Miller: 2-4, 2 RBI, R
Kennedy Carruth: 3-4
Sarah Stockstill: 2-2, R
Natalie Parker: 1-3, HR, 2B, R
Mary Moore Widemire: 1-3, 2B, R

The 2024 campaign will go down as one of the best in Belhaven Softball history. The Blazers' 47 wins mark the most in a single season since the 2011 season. Belhaven also made its first-ever NCAA Division III Women's College World Series appearance. The Blazers earned their fourth straight NCAA Regional bid and reached their third consecutive Super Regional. 

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